The Seventh Wheel
by Flash Foreward
Summary: At a dinner party, Don finds himself answering questions he'd rather not deal with. DonTerry implied, AmitaCharlie, DavidColby, and LarryMegan. Note: Contains mentions of slash. Don't read if you don't like.


**A/N: **My second entry in the quotechallenge lj comm's challenge! This one is for the prompt "Thinking." This one just kinda flowed out of me... not sure how well it reflects the quote, but I tried. Anyway, there are mentions of slash in it, so if you don't like slash then don't read it.

**Disclaimer:** Numb3rs is not mine.

**The Seventh Wheel**

"_Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last."_

_Samuel Johnson_

"Explain that again," Megan said, unfolding her napkin even further to give Larry more writing space. Don sighed and leaned back in his chair, wondering where his younger brother and Amita had gotten to. Granted, he wasn't sure he wanted to know, but being the third wheel was much worse than being the fifth wheel.

He seemed to recall that the two had said they would be right back, and that they would have dinner, but Don had lost track of time; and even if he hadn't, he wasn't sure he would have known what 'right back' meant. Right when he was deciding to give up and head to the kitchen to rummage for something, the door opened and Charlie and Amita, followed by David and Colby, filtered in.

Don smiled; glad that the food was there and that David and Colby were there. With those to around, he wouldn't feel overwhelmed by the two couples surrounding him.

"We've got Chinese!" Amita announced. Don saw Larry's eyes widen, and Charlie placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"There's some cauliflower salad in the kitchen that Amita made, and I bought a fresh gallon of milk this morning," Charlie said. Larry smiled and Megan laughed, and Don saw Colby give David an exasperated look, which made Don chuckle. He found it amusing how odd Colby found Larry and Megan's relationship

Charlie brought out plates for everyone, one filled with pure white cauliflower salad for Larry, while Amita set the Chinese take-out boxes on the table. Everyone started piling food on their plates; and Larry, Don noticed, waited for Megan to begin to eat before he dug into his own meal.

As everyone settled down and began eating, Don took a moment to observe the company he was keeping. Larry and Megan were sitting as they had been all night, close together with peals of laughter emanating from them every so often. Amita and Charlie were even closer together than Megan and Larry. Both couples cordoning themselves off as such.

Don sighed and shifted his gaze to Colby and David, and nearly dropped his chopsticks (he refused to use forks to eat Chinese). The two men had shifted their chairs slightly closer to each other. The change was so small that Don might not have noticed it, if he hadn't seen David reach for Colby's plate to get the other man his second helping.

Of course, only Don, now the seventh wheel, had noticed this occurrence. He sighed and refilled his own plate, resigning himself to the fact that he was the only single at that table.

Where was his dad when he was needed? Of course, Don wasn't sure he could count on Alan Eppes being single, as the man was smart enough not to keep his sons informed of what was going on in his dating life.

"Hey, Don," David said after everyone had taken seconds. "I heard you got a phone call from Terry." Don sighed and cast his brother a glare. Charlie, however, was too focused on Amita too notice. Megan, Larry, and Colby on the other hand, had all had their interests piqued by David's comment.

"How is she?" Megan asked after Don didn't answer for awhile. Don sighed and stalled by wiping his mouth and taking a sip of beer. By the time he was done stalling, Larry had gotten Charlie and Amita's attention and now all three couples were awaiting an answer.

"She's fine," he said, hoping to leave it at that.

"Is she still with her ex?" Charlie asked, and this time he was paying attention when Don glared at him. The young mathematician simply shrugged and quickly turned his attentions to his meal.

"Is she?" Megan prodded, and Don's glare shifted. "Don't try it, Eppes, I'm a profiler, remember?"

"Not to mention she has physics on her side," Colby mumbled under his breath. Don barely even heard it, but David gave Colby a light smack over the head.

Don set down his chopsticks and leaned back, no longer hungry. Watching all the couples sitting around his dinner table was making him much too melancholy. He couldn't leave, though, which left only the option of answering their prodding questions.

"She said they're taking a break. He's going to his cabin for the weekend while she keeps working," Don said. Megan sighed.

"She should be the one taking the vacation," she said. "And she should be coming here." Don caught a mischievous glint in Megan's eye that set him on edge for whatever was coming next.

"What'd you guys talk about?" Amita inquired. Don looked around at all the faces staring intently back at him. He was starting to think that maybe this little exchange had all been planned out.

"Stuff," he said.

"Work?" Charlie asked.

"Stuff," Don repeated, praying that they would drop it. For awhile, it seemed they had, and then he noticed that Megan hadn't taken her eyes off him since the table had fallen silent.

"Did you tell her?" Megan asked.

"Tell her what?" Don replied. Megan smiled, it was the smile of those who know more about you than you do, and Don felt himself squirm.

"I'm a profiler, Don," she said, again, pulling out the fact that she could get inside people's heads.

"So?" Don asked, pretending to be more interested in his food. He felt like he was back in middle school, avoiding telling his dad he'd gotten into a fight, even though the man had already known.

"So, did you tell her?" Again, all eyes were on Don. He had never felt so self-conscious in his life.

"There's nothing to tell," he said. His voice was calm, but even he could hear the anger that laced it. He stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He took his beer and retreated to his old room where he stood and gazed out the window at the rain clouds that were forming.

Below him, back in the dining room, the dinner continued; but it had lost all its gaiety. His outburst at their inquiries and cast a shadow over the meal, and they finished in almost complete silence. Colby, David, Larry, Megan, and Amita all left at the same time and went their separate ways; and Charlie climbed the stairs slowly, tiptoeing to his own bedroom and hoping that Don had fallen asleep.


End file.
